Labour set to win by 39,000 votes predicts final poll before election

Mar 24 2022

The final poll of the 2022 general election is forecasting a 39,000 vote win difference for Labour, despite there being a record drop in voter turnout.

The poll was carried out by statistician Vincent Marmara for L-Orizzont, forecasting a 55.9% vote for Robert Abela’s Labour Party, contrasted to Bernard Grech’s 42.8%. He surveyed 1,800 respondents between March 18 and 23, with a 95% confidence interval and 2.3% margin of error.

This aligns quite closely to other surveys commissioned by other news platforms, with Times of Malta forecasting last week that Labour is set to emerge victorious at 55.1% and the PN at 43.5%.

Should these calculations prove correct, it would signify a third consecutive record victory for PL as it improves its vote count by 0.9% and a decline of 0.9% for the PN from the 2017 election.

The poll by Marmara is also indicating an 88% turnout, a record low in local general elections as they had never seen a dip below the 90% mark. 3.8% of voters who supported Labour in 2017 will not be voting, with PN losing 2.7%.

Around 4.9% of respondents who voted PN in 2017 revealed they intend to vote Labour, whereas 1.4% of PL voters intend to switch to the Opposition. 13.9% of 2017 Nationalist voters are unsure of who to vote for, versus 8.1% of PL voters.

When it comes to third parties and independent candidates, the voting results are set to remain unchanged from 2017 – a mere 1.3%.

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“If you want to live in a dictatorship, vote for Robert Abela”, Bernard Grech states

Mar 23 2022

During this evening’s televised debate between Malta’s two major party leaders, Bernard Grech closed off his part of the discussion by telling watchers “if [they] want to have a dictatorship and more oppression in this country, vote for Robert Abela.”

Grech began his closing statements by thanking the people for watching patiently, stating that Abela did not only evade journalists’ questions in the past months, but also avoided questions made by Grech himself during the debate. He told spectators of the televised debate that the choice they have in front of them is between someone who is afraid of truth and someone who answers every question, someone who creates fear and someone who believes in a better country with conviction.

The PN leader stated that he wishes for a better future, better quality of life and better opportunities for citizens to spend with loved ones – highlighting how there are many people who spend hours on end working and do not have enough time to spend with their loved ones. Grech mentioned that a Labour government committed 150 scandals in the past nine years and over, and that is why the PN will be working tirelessly to enact their own vision for Malta.

He asked “what does it cost when you have people in business who tell you that the can’t speak or come to a PN activity because Robert Abela will break me”, also highlighting a particular case where an individual fears speaking because their daughter works with the government and they fear a potential transfer, stating “…if you want to have a dictatorship in Malta, vote for Robert Abela.”

“…if you want to have a dictatorship in Malta, vote for Robert Abela.”

Robert Abela followed, stating that the decision is between the past and the future, reiterating the Labour party’s famed ‘track record’ as they go towards the election with one thousand proposals which they wish to convert into one thousand achievements. The Prime Minister echoed the statement that the more Labour are trusted, the more humble they will be.

“We are a movement which never stops changing. Society is always evolving and as such, we must react with reflective reforms.” He then quickly went over a number of PL investments such as the €700 million investment in 7 years, increase in pensions, decrease in taxes, guarantees for children and students and more.

Abela stated that for this to be possible, voters must vote for themselves, their children and the future of their country.

What do you make of tonight’s debate?

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“Let us accept that with regards to the environment, no party was perfect”, says Robert Abela

Mar 23 2022

During this evening’s PBS debate between the two party leaders, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech squared off for one final tête-à-tête before the March 26 election date and they definitely didn’t hold back.

Before beginning to address the issue of sustainable development and the environment, Abela categorically denied the allegations that €3 million in traffic & contravention fines vanished, calling it “a bald-faced lie of the many [Grech] chose to say because [he has] nothing to offer.” He also denied the involvement in definite permits related to the Sannat building because it is still subject to appeal and must go through multiple stages before being approved.

“The larger the trust confided in us, the larger our humility.”

Abela stated that “the larger the trust confided in [Labour], the larger [their] humility,” echoing the priority of €700 million in 7 years, which in one of the party’s main pillars going into the election.

The Prime Minister suggested that we must not undervalue the battle against climate change, mentioning Malta’s carbon neutrality goals and a number of other sustainable projects proposed by the Labour Party such as the eventual prohibition of single-use plastics and the electrification of public and private vehicles.

Bernard Grech’s rebuttal started with the PN leader stating that the Labour party had already promised positive environmental practices in Malta, then suffocated it with development and buildings. He then highlighted some of the Nationalist Party’s proposals with regards to sustainable development & environment such returning the White Rocks back to the public and implementing the trackless tram.

Addressing certain contradictions on the trackless tram, Grech stated that the tram will have a dedicated lanes while the already-existing ones will be widened.

What do you make of this?

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‘The Opposition used the pandemic as a political tool’, says Robert Abela

Mar 23 2022

During this evening’s debate broadcasted on Malta’s national television station, Malta’s two major party leaders Robert Abela and Bernard Grech went head to head for one last time before Saturday’s election date.

After giving their opening statements, the leaders were invited to discuss a number of the country’s most pressing issues, with the first point of discussion being public health. Abela stated that after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization can attest to Malta’s performance, calling the country ‘a champion’ in the fact of such crises.

The Prime Minister claimed that the Opposition chose to use the pandemic as a political tool with their calls of a ‘total lockdown’ and ‘how they couldn’t wait for their pandemic to end to head towards an election.’

Going on to his own party, Abela said that a Labour government pledges ‘total reforms’ in the public health sector, with proposals such as building a new outpatients facility and parking, relocation of the medical school from Mater Dei to University and the use of current medical school halls to treat patients. He ensured that Labour has a “tried and tested public health team which offers the best personnel in the health sector.”

Bernard Grech’s rebuttal to such statements was that the only government to create a state of the art hospital in Malta was a Nationalist Party-led government and Malta’s performance during the pandemic came as a result of the EU’s contribution, something which Labour always opposed.

The PN leader went on to state that Labour’s only track record is that they promise something and don’t provide it. He brought up the example of the Paola clinic, which is yet to be finished. “They opened a room to give you the impression that they finished it”, pledging that a PN-led government will provide the consistency and credibility that Labour has failed to deliver.

What do you make of these statements?

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